Power log-loader.



J. A. WEBER.

POWER LOG LOADER.

APPLICATION mm) AUG.19, 1012.

1,099,221 Patented June 9, 1914.

JOHN WEBER, OF TOLEDO, OHIO.

POWER LOG-LOAD'E'R.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 19, 1912.

Patented J une 9, 1914. Serial No. 715,774.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JoIIN A, W'nnnn, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Toledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, have invented a certainnew and useful Power Log-Loader; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to saw-mill apparatus, and particularly to means for controlling the movements of logs down skidways and also for assisting in turning a log upon its sawed side after a cant has been cut therefrom.

The object of my invention is to facilitate the handling of logs and cants in sawmills by the provision of a rocker log feeding means, which may be operated to effect a feeding of logs down the skidway, or may be placed in inoperative position so as to enable cants to be moved back upon the skidway preparatory to being further sawed.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a manuallyfcontrolled means for assisting in turning a log, after being sawed, with its sawed face down on the carriage, whereby to materially lessen the labor incident to log handling in saw-mills.

The invention is fully described in the following specification; and while, in its broader aspect, it is capable of embodiment in numerous forms, a preferred embodiment thereof is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus embodying my invention with parts broken away, and Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the carriage on which a log2 is mounted when being sawed, and 3 the beams or timbers of the customary skidway down which the logs are rolled to the carriage. The skidway timbers 3 are shown as being arranged in pairs at each side thereof, with the timbers of each pair slightly spaced apart to permit the mounting of rockerlevers or log-feeding members 4 therebetween. The levers 4 are mounted on pivot pins 5 adjacent to the top edges of the timbers 3 and are attached at their forward ends to eccentric strap-arms 6, the straps of which are mounted on eccentrics 7 carried by a shaft 8, which shaft extends transversely of the skidway beneath the timbers thereof and. is journaled in bearing-ln'ackets 9 depending from the under side of said timbers. The strokes of the eccentrics 7 are such that when the forward ends of the rocker-levers 4 are at the limit'of their upward movements they stand in log obstructing positions, as shown in Fig. 1, and when at the limit of their downward movements the forward ends of such levers stand below the upper edges of the skidway timbers, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1. A removable hecl-piccc 10 is mounted on the top side of the rear end of each lever 4 and serves to coact with a log to roll it forward on the skidway when the rear end of the lever is raised from lowered position, as is apparent. The lovers 4 are so shaped that when the heel-pieces 10 are removed therefrom and the forward ends of the lovers are in lowered position. the rear ends of the lovers will stand below the top surface of the skidway timbers, thus preventing any obstructions on the top surface of the skidway to the back sliding of cants thereon, which is quite an important feature in sawmill operation. a

The shaft 8 is shown as carrying a sprocket-wheel 11 which has connection through a sprocket-chain 12 with a sprocketwhcel 13 on a drive-shaft 14, which is mounted in the skidway frame work and is driven in any suitable manner. A frictionclutch 15 is mounted on the shaft 14, and its movable member is connected to a control lever 16 through a lever 17 and connectingrod 18.

A single revolution clutch 19 of any suitable construction is fixed to the shaft 8, and, in the present instance, has a clutch-pin 20 which is adapted to engage the sprocketwheel 11 and communicate rotation to the shaft when the trip-pin, 9.1 is retracted. \Vhen the shaft has completed a revolution the trip-pin coacts with a part of the clutchpin to retract it from sprocket-wheel engag:

ing position, as is well understood in the art. The tripping of the trip-pin 21 is controlled from. a foot-treadle 22,. which has connection therewith.

Mounted on pivots 23 adjacent to the forward ends of the skidway timbers are a set of blocks 24, which have their forward ends vertically broadened and of convexed circu-' lar form and are provided at their rearends .with tail-pieces to which control cables shaft 29 that. is mounted in the skidwayframework transversely thereof. The blocks 24.normally stand inlowered orinoperative positions relativeto the skidway by reason of, the; gravity action thereof, and are raised to the operative position shown inFig. lloy a depression of a foot-treadle 30 on the shaft 3 29, which effects a rocking of said shaft and a consequent pulling of the cables 26 to lower the tail-pieces 25 and raise the blocks 24, as is apparent. When the blocks 24 are raised to operative position their curved sides extend upward and rearward from ad-- jacent to the edgeof the carriage 1, so that when a partially sawed log 2 is tipped over with its sawed side against the curved edges of the blocks 24 the log will tend to have a rolling and downward and forward sliding movement onthe blocks, due to-the center of gravity of the .log being above its point of firstcontact with the blocks, thus effecting a consequent forward movement of the lower sawed edge of the log so that the log will then slide by gravity to flat position on the carriage, or in position .to have another cut takentherefrom at right-angles to the first or previous cut. It is found in practice-that the provision of the blocks 24' materially facilitates the turning of logs on the carriage for the purpose oftaking successive cuts of the same at right angles to each other, and greatly lessens the labor which has heretofore been incident to such turning.

In the use of my improved log turning attachment, the operator, in feeding a log down theskidway to the carriage depresses the treadle 22 to permit an engagement of the clutch pin 20 and rotating sprocketwheel 11, thus imparting a single revolution to the shaft 8 and eccentrics 7 and a consequent movement to the log feeding levers 4 to'lower their forward ends from log obstructing position and raise their rear ends to cause the heel-pieces 10 to coact with the under side of a registering log to force it forward down the skidway, after which the levers are returned to the normal at rest position. shown. Kit is desired to move cants back upon the sk'idway as they are cut from a log, to render them accessible for a subsequent cutting into smaller pieces, the logs 7 are blocked to the rear of the feeding levers 4 and-the heel-pieces 10 removed from the levers to permit such levers to be moved into inoperative position, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1, thus enabling the cants to beslid back upon the skidway over said lever.

the log, the log will rollpartially around the curved block edges to effect a forward movement of the lower edge of the log,; and the log will then slide by gravity into flat position upon the carriage.

"It is apparent 'that' both ofthe devices F herein described materially facilitate the handling of logs and cants insaw-mill work and also reduce the labor and expense inci dent to such-work.- I

Iwish it understood that myinventionis not limitedto any specific construction or arrangement of the parts exceptin so far as such limitations are specified in the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is,

v 1.. The .combinatlon with a log skidway, of a rocker-lever to obstruct the movements of alog down the skidway and thento feeda'n obstructed log forward, said lever'ha'ving a part which is removable to enable the. lever to wholly stand out of log obstructing position, and means for operating said lever.

2. The combination with a log skidway, of a rocker-lever attached to said skidway, means attached to said lever and'oper'able to move the forward end thereof upward into log obstructing position, or vice versa,

the rear end of said lever standing at all times below thetop surface of the skidway, and a 'heelpiece.removably carried by the ;rear end of the lever for cooperating with the lever to feed a superposed log-forward when the rear end of the leveris elevated,

and manuallycontrolled means for imparting rocking movements to said lever.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FLORENCE AUL.

' Copies of this patent may be, cbtained for flve cents each, by-addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, 13.0. 

